


Now You See Me... (Cable/OC)

by Superficial_Space_Cadets



Category: Cable and Deadpool, Cable x OC, Deadpool (Movieverse), Deadpool - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Force (Comics), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 08:18:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15190673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Superficial_Space_Cadets/pseuds/Superficial_Space_Cadets
Summary: Wade Wilson has a desperate plan to join two of his friends in a lasting partnership. One’s a hotheaded cyborg and the other is a sarcastic, self-conscious loner. What could go wrong?





	1. Chapter 1

Harlow Truman gasped and rolled out of her bed and onto the floor when three sudden, very loud knocks rang from her bedroom door. She groaned and put her hand onto her forehead in agony, feeling the effect of the previous night’s drinks pound in her temples.

“What is it Wade?” She shouted angrily from the floor.

Wade Wilson strutted inside, a pitying look plastered across his hideously scarred face. “You’re fucked up.” He stated, referring to her horrendous hangover.

“You’re a genius.” She said sarcastically, rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands.

Wade moseyed his way over to her bed and sat down, sinking into her squishy mattress. “You should’ve told me you were going ham last night. I totally would’ve joined you.”

She sighed. Usually, she’d be laughing her ass off at Wade’s stupid quips, but it seems her excessive drinking didn’t do its job. She was still miserable.

“You know you’re the only one in this mansion that talks to me?” She said in a low mumble before sitting up and leaning on the side of the bed on the floor next to Wade.

He sighed disappointedly. “Yeah. I know.” –He shook his head before continuing– “But that’s not your fault. I’m just the only one who sees how totally awesome you are!” He laughed giddily as he envisioned all of the incredible feats that Harlow had accomplished on her X-Men missions.

“Yeah, and Wolvie was a redneck war hero with horrendous hygiene and retractable metal butt plugs that shot out of his knuckles.” She rolled her eyes and kicked an empty beer bottle around with her feet. “...and he got killed by a tree.” She added sarcastically. 

“First of all: nice one. Second of all: I’m now making it my number one priority to find you a partner.” Wilson said.

“A partner?” She repeated suspiciously. “What kind of partner are you talking about?”

“Romantic...” Wade started, then caught himself when he saw Harlow giving him a death glare from below. “Or just some sort of person to accompany you when I can’t be there.” He corrected.

“No. No fucking way. A partner can’t possibly make my life better. Especially not if there isn’t a single mutant in here who even cares to talk to me.” She caught Wade frowning down at her and squeezed her eyes shut in annoyance. “Besides you.” She added reluctantly.

“I bet you 100 arcade tokens that the next person to sign up for a duo mission with you will become your new best friend.” Wade leaned his elbows onto his knees to show his serious intensity.

His friend smiled softly and looked him in the eyes. “That’s an easy win. Deal.” She said, looking forward to her not-yet-official prize of 100 tokens to their favorite arcade. They shook each other’s hands to set it in stone.

Wade leapt off the mattress with glee and skipped out the door before closing it behind him. Harlow heard a few mumbles come from the other side, though she was fairly certain those words weren’t directed at her. She was fully aware of Wade’s tendency to talk to himself.

“Talk to myself? What kind of lunatic does she think I am? I’m talking to you! Yeah, you! The beautiful human being reading this here fan fiction.” Wade looked out from the words of your screen, almost piercing through the novel itself and talking directly to you, the reader.

“This is making you uncomfortable, isn’t it? Well, I ain’t stopping. Not unless this novel ends up being a total flop, and in that case, it wouldn’t be my fault.” He leaned nonchalantly against the wall and picked at his teeth with his fingernails. “Anyway, I’ve been trying to make Harlow agree to let me find her a partner for a while. This happens to work out perfectly with one more plan I made to non-consensually hook up yet another friend of mine with a lovely woman. Can you guess who it is? I’ll give you a hint. It’s synonym for a type of electrical wiring.” He scrunched his shoulders up in excitement as he awaited your answer, then, after a few seconds, dropped his shoulders suddenly and looked outward in disappointment.

“Oh. It’s in the description of the novel, isn’t it? That’s not fair at all.” He folded his arms in front of his chest and sighed, pushing himself off of the wall and walking down the hall of the X-Men Mansion. “The good news is that now I know you aren’t totally oblivious to obvious answers that are right in front of you.” He thought for a moment. “Now... should I let the author of this story be a lazy writer and skip to where the action all starts, or let her suffer through more boring buildup writing? I think she deserves a reward. Onto the good stuff!”


	2. Chapter 2

Nathan Summers glared deeply into his reflection in the bathroom mirror, staring daggers at the splotches of mechanical life that made up separate parts of his body. His left eye gleamed a bright amber hue as he turned away and picked up a ragged short-sleeved t-shirt that was sitting idly nearby, strewn about on a lone piece of furniture. He was never the organized type. That was his wife’s forte, not his. As he slid the shirt on over his metal-ridden skin, he sighed loudly and pondered the feeling of loneliness he knew all to well. 

Sure, he had the so-called “X-Force” now, but he considered that group more as business partners than friends. Hell, the other mutants were so intimidated my him that they gave him his own private room in the mansion. At least, that’s what he decided to believe. The truth was that he was considered old enough to not be a student anymore, but rather, a mentor, like Colossus.

Much to his surprise, nobody wanted him to be their mentor. (That was a good ol’ dose of sarcasm! -DP)

So, during the many, many hours of free time he had, he used it by doing mercenary work at Sister Margaret’s. Wade introduced him to the place, and as much as he hated to admit it, he grew quite fond of it very quickly. The entire reason he stayed in this era in the first place was to make the world a better place, and hopefully, by doing so, save it from fucking itself over in the future. Mercenary work allowed him to do that one baddie at a time. He was content. Content, but at the same time, unsatisfied. 

His whole life, he always had his wife and daughter by his side. If not at work, then at home, waiting to give him a sprinting hug and a kiss in the cheek. Now, all he came home to was his dark room with its depressing monotone colors and a mansion full of people who were terrified of him. Home sweet home.

Suddenly, like a bat out of hell, someone burst through Cable’s door and scared him right out of his thinking trance, sending his fist flying out towards the culprit of his scare without a second thought. His knuckles hit something soft then hard as he heard a prominent cracking sound emerge from the red blur in front of him.

“Wade?!” Nathan shouted angrily, his fists still instinctively held up in defense in front of him as he soon realized who he had just assaulted. 

“Yeah...” Wade was bent over holding his masked face with one hand. He leaned back up to reveal the damage Cable had done. His jaw was completely shifted to one side, like the failed placement of a rogue block in a bad game of Tetris.

“You can’t do that! How many times do I have to fucking say it?” Summers whirled around in place as if he was struggling to figure out what to do with his body besides crushing Wilson’s face in some more.

“Yurhh righ. I surry. I shurreh.” he held his hands up in defense before placing them on his jaw and snapping it back into place. The sound and the sight of it made Nathan wince. “You’re gonna have to repeat that.” Nathan said dryly, leaning in to gather Wade’s incomprehensible words once more.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Wade repeated. “I just have some exciting news. I think I found you a work partner!”

“Nope. Not happening.” Nathan replied instantly, not a thought going into Wade’s proposition whatsoever.

“Woah, slow your role there, discount Cyborg. Just hear me out.” Wade pleaded.

“There’s nothing to discuss. You pranked me three times with bullshit like this in the past, remember?”

Wade’s mind flashed back to the multiple times he told Cable he had a trainee for him that actually turned out to be one of three things: a marriage counselor, a Black Panther action figure, (supposedly to help him keep an open mind about different races), and a gay male prostitute. He was severely injured after all three of those pranks.

Wade let out a chuckle before snapping back to reality. “Those were fun times, but I’m serious. Now it’s personal.”

“Oh, it’s personal? That makes me want to do it even less.” Summers snapped and crossed his arms over his chest.

“This isn’t for my benefit. It’s for a really good friend of mine. She needs someone to go on missions with besides me. I’m very clearly not the greatest influence.” He gestured at himself to aid his reasoning. “And nobody else at the mansion treats her right. I dunno why.”

Wade’s friend stayed quiet, pondering his words thoroughly. “Tell me more about this girl.”

Wade’s eyes widened through the mask. “Her name is Harlow Truman. She’s a Pieces, she likes long walks on the beach and-“

“Wade...”

“-her favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla, which is stupid because it’s so plain and boring, kinda the DC Universe-“

“Wade.”

“-she’s pretty shy but she really opens up to people she trusts, like she does with me-“

“WADE!”

The merc stopped abruptly.

“I meant...” Nathan took a pause to keep his cool. “...tell me more about this girl’s abilities.”

Wade blinked and twiddled his thumbs. “Right. Uh, I knew that. So, she has the ability to trick people into seeing or not seeing whatever she wants. For example, she can make people envision a giant cock erupting from the ground and knocking over a skyscraper, or she can just take away the skyscraper from their vision completely. It’s super helpful when she hides our team from potential threats, and makes sneaky missions an absolute cake walk.”

Nathan nodded approvingly. This girl’s powers seemed too extraordinary for Wade to make up. “What’s her experience level?”

“She goes on frequent solo missions, but nobody ever cares to let her join in on the group missions. She’s an involuntary loner. I’d say she’s pretty damn excellent at what she does, she just needs someone to do it with.” (If you know what I mean... -DP)

Nathan pondered Wade’s description of her. Something inside of him was telling him to accept his proposition. Something faint but still prominent. Something that was resonating above the fear and the doubt. It tugged at his soul and beckoned him to step into the unknown with no idea of what he might uncover about himself or about this girl. 

There wasn’t much to lose, but he was still terrified. Although, his instinctive competitive and egotistical nature contradicted with his negative emotions. He wasn’t going to be a pussy and back out of this. Not a chance.

“Fine.” Nathan released a low grumble in his chest.

“Come on Cab- wait... what?!” Wade’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“I said fine. Now what’s the plan? Am I meeting her somewhere or...?”

“Oh! Uhhh...” Wade hesitated, clearly trying to stall so he can come up with some sort of excuse or lie. “I forged your signature on the mission sign-up board, so you’ll both be going on the same mission tomorrow! Isn’t that fun?”

Nathan clenched his jaw in frustration and held his hand over his face in annoyance. “You what?”

“Okayokayokayokay hold your techno-balls, alright? It’s a nice undercover mission that shouldn’t take long at all.” Wade attempted to defend himself.

“Undercover?! Have you seen me? My robotic ass can’t go undercover!” Summers yelled in disbelief.

“Oh shit, you’re right!” Wade’s eyes widened, though he seemed generally unmoved by his mistake.

Summers grunted, then fell silent as he pondered the situation. “Wait... is it possible she can make me look normal to everybody else?” 

Wade gasped. “Yes! You’re a fuckin’ genius!”

“It’s just common sense...” He discounted his wits with an excuse.

“Okay, one last important detail...” Wade started, looking at Nathan for a cue to continue. Nathan nodded subtly. “I was the one to convince Harlow to sign up for a duo mission, which she usually never does because she has no friends. She didn’t think anybody else was going to sign up to be her partner, so don’t ruin this, okay?”

Wade’s tone was unbelievably genuine. For the first time since Nathan met him, he seemed to be dead serious about what he was doing; and as much as he hated to admit it, Nathan owed it to him. As annoying and relentless as Wade was, he still treated Summers like a friend. That’s something he couldn’t dream of ever saying before he joined the X-Force.

“Okay.” Nathan’s voice was soft. “I won’t.”

“You mean it?! Agh, come ‘ere, you!” Wade rushed towards his friend with open arms, his smile visible through the folds of his mask.

The sound of sharp metal rang throughout the room, making Wade stop in his tracks just centimeters away from Nathan. “Didyouseriouslyjustfuckingstabmeinthedickagain?!”

“Back off, Po.”

Wade’s arms raised by his head defensively as he backed away and the knife removed itself from his favorite body part. “A Telletubbies joke? How old are you again?”

“Get out.”

“Yep.”

Wade waved goodbye as he swiftly skipped out the door. Nathan slid his knife back into his utility belt and rubbed his eyes with his hands. He didn’t like people. Now he’s obligated to go on a mission with a stranger and make her feel good. Out of all the people Wade could’ve chosen, Summers was starting to think he was the worst choice of them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My plan is flawless. -DP


	3. Chapter 3

“That cock thistle owes me those tokens...” Harlow grumbled softly as she leaned on a wall under a shady overhang of a fancy outdoor reception and waited undercover, her eyes flicking left and right as she observed the people around her. She checked her X-Men wrist watch and her eyes widened as she saw a blip in her radar. Another X-Man was there.

“Well, fuck me...” she said as she slowly began to turn towards the blip and follow it to it’s source. She stopped at the outside of the reception where she eyed a short man wearing a long coat and a hat, clearly trying a little too hard to hide his face as he leaned on the side of a dark grey pickup truck. She cautiously approached the man and he looked up, his left eye glistening a bright orange glow. “Are you here for the mission?” Harlow whispered secretively.

“I am. You must be Illusia. (Ill•oo•shuh)” A deep voice escaped his lips, and he revealed more of his face as he tilted his head up more. “The name’s Cable.”

Harlow wasn’t used to hearing her alias out loud. The only friend she had was Wade, and he only ever called her by her real name. “Right. Nice to meet you.” She held out her hand for a proper introduction, and his right hand slid out of his pocket and grasped hers firmly, the sting of cold metal chilling her skin.

“Well your name certainly makes sense to me now.” She chuckled, then pondered for a moment. “Care to tell me why you signed up for an undercover mission?” She asked.

Cable smiled and looked off into the distance. “I figured you’d have the solution.” He answered slyly.

“God, I have to fucking do everything around here!” She complained in a joking manner, then turned to walk back towards the reception. “Come on, Robo-Cop.”

Nathan followed in close pursuit, his nerves causing anxiety as he walked into the crowd, expecting every pair of eyes to be on him. “I’m not used to being ignored.” He said.

She pivoted her head towards him and slowed down her pace to converse. “Were you always like this?” She asked, her voice gentle as to not offend him in some way.

“No, no. I don’t think anyone can be born this...” he struggled to find an adjective that best fit his view of himself.

“-Astounding?” She finished.

Nathan bit his cheek slightly, her comment catching him off guard. “I was actually gonna say something like ‘horrifying’ or ‘vomit-inducing...’” he joked. “But I guess ‘astounding’ works too...”

“I think all mutants feel burdened by their gifts.” She smiled at him thoughtfully and beckoned him to come closer as the reception started to officially commence. They hid in the same shady area that Harlow was prior to their meeting and watched from the shadows.

“So what’s our main goal here?” Nathan asked in a hushed voice.

Harlow laughed and furrowed her eyebrows with a confused smile. “Didn’t you read the job description? We’re gathering information about this anti-mutant activist group. They’ve been setting up small ambush spots in highly-visited mutant safe houses where they attack and bludgeon any mutant that shows up there. It fuckin’ blows.”

Nathan shook his head in disappointment, a subtle snark forming on his lips. If there was one group Wade didn’t accuse him of being racist against, it was mutantkind. Hell, his parents were Cyclops and a Jean Grey clone. Everything he ever knew had to do with mutants, and this- well, this was a fucking disgrace. He looked around to see signs he hadn’t noticed before, civilians holding up messages that reflected their hatred for his kind.

“Am I allowed to just fuck ‘em up right now?” His fists clenched and Harlow quickly slapped her arm across his chest in an attempt to hold him back. “Trust me, I feel the exact same way, but we have to obey the rules.”

Cable rolled his eyes at her statement.

“Okay asshole, I know that sounds lame but I’d rather not start an entire god damn massacre today!” Harlow’s voice was louder than it should’ve been, and some members of the group turned to face the duo with concerned looks plastered onto their faces. Harlow cleared her throat and smiled nervously. “Hi, sorry! My boyfriend is being a bit fussy today.” She elbowed him hard on his left shoulder and a loud metallic sound rang throughout the reception, her elbow instantly throbbing with pain as she forgot about her partner’s... condition. “Boyfriend?!” He whispered angrily. More heads turned to face them, and soon enough, there were whispers beginning to spread around the crowd.

One man in particular stood out from the group of activists as the attention was on them. He was wearing a charming outfit with expensive-looking sunglasses and a smug-ass face. “You two seem quite engaged... what say you in our proposal to better advertise our beliefs?”

The two partners looked at one-another and then back at the stranger. “Well I think it could help a lot! Right, honey?” Those words slithered off of his tongue and left a horrible imaginary aftertaste, but he remained unmoved. Harlow, however, was staring at her audience with wide eyes and her hands vigorously twirling in front of her. “Honey, tell them how right they are...” Nathan’s thoughts were beginning to slip, and his partner seemed to be stuck in some sort of fear-driven trance. At this time, several gasps could be heard from the crowd, and Nathan frantically made eye contact with multiple citizens who’s faces were terrified.

“Oh no...” Harlow suddenly spoke, looking at Cable with glassy eyes. “I slipped.”

“Mutants!” One voice shouted above the rest before a symphony of screams and shouts erupted from the reception. The duo quickly disappeared from the eyes of the people, but they continued to spread out in search of their uninvited guests. Harlow grabbed Nathan’s hand and weaved through several angry guests. They were invisible to the people thanks to Harlow’s abilities, and they were able to escape quickly and drive away without anyone noticing before Cable turned to Harlow from the passenger’s seat and yelled at her angrily.

“What the fuck did you mean by ‘I slipped?’ Do you even know what you’re doing?” His voice boomed inside the car.

“I- I get nervous when I’m put on the spot. I lose focus when the attention is on me and my illusion falters.” She bowed her head down in discouragement. “I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t need your apology. The entire mission has just been compromised, and we probably just made the issue even worse! What I need is to go back to one day ago and stop Wade from signing me up for this bullshit!”

Harlow immediately whirled her head around to him, her eyes watery and light pink. He immediately regretted what he had said.

“Stop the car.”

“Harlow-“

“I said stop the fucking car!”

Summers promptly pulled over on the side of the road and Harlow opened the door and jumped out with her bag. “Wait, don’t-“ He was cut off by her slamming the door and storming off along the sidewalk, her bag hoisted onto one shoulder and her eyes channeling a downpour of delicate tears onto her cheeks.

Cable figured there was no point in trying to talk to her at that moment, and sullenly drove on his way as Harlow walked herself back home with nothing but her loneliness and a crushing sense of failure and betrayal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man that Cable guy’s a total dick stick. -DP


End file.
